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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Nadeem Badshah

Eurovision crew member hit with paint amid bid to disrupt Israeli performance

Woman holds a sign reading 'No music for murder'
Earlier in the day pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in the centre of Basel to protest against Israel’s inclusion in the competition. Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters

A Eurovision song contest crew member was hit with paint after two people tried to rush on stage to disrupt Israeli singer Yuval Raphael’s performance on Saturday, organisers in Basel said.

The incident took place while Raphael, 24, was performing New Day Will Rise. No one was injured, and the man and woman involved were escorted from the venue.

A spokesperson for Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR, which is organising the contest, said: “At the end of the Israeli performance, a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier on to the stage. They were stopped. One of the two agitators threw paint and a crew member was hit.

“The crew member is fine and nobody was injured. The man and the woman were taken out of the venue and handed over to the police.”

A spokesperson for Israeli broadcaster Kan said the protesters “were blocked by security officials but Raphael was shaken and upset”.

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